Ben Baker, team manager of the zoo’s butterfly team, said: “Few people realise that the butterflies we might see in our gardens, forests and mosslands across the UK are heavily under threat, with many species disappearing from their last strongholds throughout England.

“The Chester Zoo butterfly team already cares for endangered and rare invertebrates from across the world, as well as these local butterflies. We are working extremely hard to stop these species from disappearing.

“It is an amazing privilege to play a part in embarking these rare caterpillars on their journey, returning the species to their historic home.

“Although minuscule in size at the moment, we’ll watch them grow and grow in our care over the course of the year, wishing them farewell in the spring.”

(Chester Zoo)

The butterfly can be identified by its orange wings, each bearing six black and white “eyespots” on the underside.

The species were once common across Britain, but over the last 200 years their habitats have been pushed further north.

Large colonies previously at home in Manchester and Liverpool have long since been lost to local extinction.

The breeding programme and reintroduction forms part of the Lancashire Wildlife Trust-led Manchester Mosses Species Reintroduction Project, which aims to return plants and insects to areas of conservation in Manchester, Cheshire and Lancashire.